COAS Stakeholders Visit Oak Ridge National Laboratory to Discuss Partnerships and Showcase Student Research
Representatives from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and minority-serving institutions met to discuss strategic partnership opportunities and showcase student research.
On Nov. 19 – 20, 2019, the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) hosted a collaboration workshop with faculty and students from 14 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), such as Spelman College in Atlanta, Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Florida International University in Miami.
“ORNL is committed to building a diverse and talented workforce. Teams including different perspectives and backgrounds are integral to the success of ORNL’s research and operations missions,” said Deborah Bowling, ORNL Office of Diversity manager.
The “Fostering Strategic Partnerships with HBCUs and HSIs” workshop, presented by the Office of Research Excellence and the Office of Diversity, aimed to provide faculty and students at minority-serving institutions with information about internship and career opportunities at ORNL and to encourage scientific collaboration between these institutions and ORNL research programs.
“We have a partnership with Oak Ridge to find new ways, innovative ways, to not only increase the production of PhD candidates on our campuses but to also create opportunities for our students. And, at Oak Ridge, we’ll also see the quality of talent that we’re producing at the nation’s HBCUs,” said Joyce Payne, founder of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and a workshop panel moderator.
Workshop highlights included a keynote by Deputy of Science and Technology Michelle Buchanan; a student poster session and an ORNL staff and postdoc poster session; a working dinner with remarks from Earth Sciences Group Leader Eric Pierce; and panel discussions, led by faculty and administrators from HBCUs and HSIs and ORNL researchers and leaders, on topics ranging from challenges and opportunities in STEM to furthering ORNL engagement with minority-serving institutions.
The best poster winners from the student poster session were Nyesa Enakaya from Howard University, Guddi Suman from Prairie View A&M University, and Jovin Lazare from Clark Atlanta University.
ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy's Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. DOE’s Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit http://science.energy.gov/.
A video recap of this event can be viewed here.
This article is courtesy of ORNL and can be read in its entirety on the ORNL website, here.
By Katie Jones; Oak Ridge National Laboratory | December 12, 2019